Pro Wrasslin' Thread: I don't know what I just saw

[Eric P]

TOO VAGUE!

[bork]

RAW notes.  I ended up pausing the show pretty early on to go do other stuff and fast forwarded through most of it.  The notable stuff:

-This was a "RAW Reunion" show.  The kliq was together (Nash, Hall, HBK, Waltman, and HHH) and ripped on Miz.  Mizdow was dressed as X-Pac.

-The nWo (Hall, Nash, and Waltman-- Hogan was there but in other segments) did a segment in the ring and got interrupted by The Ascension.  JBL gets up and calls out Farooq to come down.  The New Age Outlaws come down.  The Ascension get destroyed by a bunch of retired wrestlers.  Totally buried.  But I bet they'll be squashing jobbers again next week!   

-Brock was getting in Rollins' face and intimidating him the entire night.  Rollins played the scared, chicken-shit heel. 

-The main event was Cena vs. Rollins/Kane/Big Show.  If Cena won, Ziggler, Rowen, and Ryback got their jobs back.  Unsurprisingly, Cena won.  But it's how he wins that was a surprise...Sting (!!!) showed up and distracted the Authority, leading to Cena pinning Rollins.  He seems to have new gear now.

-After the match, Brock came out and destroyed Big Show and Kane.  He kept going after Rollins, but Rollins kept slipping away.

As I skipped through a ton of shit, maybe I missed something, but much like last week, the focus was all over the main event and the Rumble itself felt like an afterthought.

[Himu]

Sounds terrible.

Let's have guys become one of the most over tag team champs in developmental. Then let's bury them when they get promoted!



Meanwhile, I had fun what I watched Rawlternative.

Thank you soooo much for suffering for us and giving us the Bork Laser Raw Report, Bork. You are a savior.

[Himu]

WHAT SAY YE LYTE

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/raw/1549745-so-thats-why-jbl-burying-ascension.html
http://www.wrestlingforum.com/raw/1549921-raw-reunion-should-go-down-one-best-raws-ever.html

[fistfulofmetal]

JBL throwing the CFH out there was great. He still does it better than anyone in the company.

Sting finally looked like a badass even though he was just... backstage. The vigilante was hanging out in a stage area backstage. Whatarebel.

[Eric P]

got the ok to photograph the CHIKARA show this weekend.

hype

[bork]

WHAT SAY YE LYTE

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/raw/1549745-so-thats-why-jbl-burying-ascension.html
http://www.wrestlingforum.com/raw/1549921-raw-reunion-should-go-down-one-best-raws-ever.html

1. That whole Ascension beatdown was to set up a match at the Rumble...against the New Age Outlaws, where the Ascension will surely win quickly.  What happened on RAW just made those two idiots look even dumber.  Awful booking.

2. "Raw Reunion should go down as one of the BEST RAWS EVER" <-- 

[nachobro]

WM32 is gonna be at the Cowboys stadium 

[Himu]

http://podcastone.com/Steve-Austin-Show-Clean

DDP says that Scott Hall wants Kevin Dunn's job

[bork]

Smackdown stuff: Ziggler, Ryback, and Rowen must win matches on the Show to enter the Rumble.  Ziggler and Ryback win.  Daniel Bryan has to beat Kane (again) to keep his spot in the Rumble and wins. 

[Trent Dole]

Man I'd rather Rowen be in than stupid Ryberg but none of those three are going to win so whatever.

[Eric P]

this is why i just read Uprosx's wrestling stuff.

someone else goes through the pain of watching it to report anything worth tracking down the day after on Hulu.  They have a stable of really solid writers

http://uproxx.com/prowrestling/

[Himu]

http://uproxx.com/prowrestling/2015/01/why-doesnt-wwe-acknowledge-the-real-reason-wcw-died/

[Himu]

It makes a good case.

Sting was my favorite wrestler back then.

The reason Sting isn't my favorite wrestler NOW is because the mystique is gone and those set of matches in 97-98 were trash. Most of what made Sting awesome was the build towards killing the NWO. That's all WCW really had besides the cruiser weight division. Despite this, I still preferred WCW until like 99.

Fave part of that article:

The Sting vs. Hogan match would be the biggest match in WCW history. On the surface it was the WCW guy taking out the NWO in one match, but deep down the match would represent the guy Hogan buried finally standing tall and representing WCW in a win. The match would be WCW and, before then NWA, kicking out Hulk Hogan, WWE and all the non-wrestling muscleheaded Rock & Roll wrestling bullsh*t that never should have crossed the Mason/Dixon line in the first place.

[Himu]

http://uproxx.com/prowrestling/2015/01/friday-wrestling-conversation-wwe-is-bringing-back-the-brand-split-who-do-you-put-where-and-why/

Thoughts?

Am I the only person who would want WWE vs NXT?

[Eric P]

Depends on who is booking/writing it, to be absolutely honest.

I read the after reports on uproxx and here and it sounds DIRE whereas the NXT stuff is a short hour long show with match after match after match. 

[Himu]

2014 Wrestling Observer Awards results:

LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR)

SHINSUKE NAKAMURA (323): 2,262
A.J. Styles (188): 1,739
Hiroshi Tanahashi (145): 1,563
Kazuchika Okada (92): 1,268
Daniel Bryan (55): 481
Rush (37): 423
Ricochet (8): 261
John Cena (21): 206
Seth Rollins (13): 199
Brock Lesnar (17): 180

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER

A.J. STYLES (220): 1,819
Tomohiro Ishii (247): 1,671
Shinsuke Nakamura (190): 1,639
Kazuchika Okada (46): 697
Hiroshi Tanahashi (34): 604
Ricochet (54): 466
Sami Zayn (12): 289
Katsuyori Shibata (11): 182
Negro Casas (8): 179
Seth Rollins (4): 171

BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW

RONDA ROUSEY (286): 1,825
John Cena (129): 910
Hiroshi Tanahashi (46): 838
Shinsuke Nakamura (63): 559
Brock Lesnar (53): 507
Daniel Bryan (13): 263
Chris Weidman (2): 261
Atlantis (13): 235
Anderson Silva (19): 166
Ultimo Guerrero : 145

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR

YOUNG BUCKS (509): 3,374
Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly (159): 2,042
T-Hawk & Eita (158): 1,344
Usos (36): 731
Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura (56): 561
Alex Shelley & Kushida (8): 479
Goldust & Stardust (3): 101
Luke Harper & Erick Rowan (2): 99
Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards (14): 92
Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori (10): 92

MOST IMPROVED

RUSEV (181): 1,372
Charlotte (152): 1,281
Sasha Banks (2): 383
Erick Rowan (41): 313
Luke Harper (15): 241
Bobby Lashley (19): 205
Tomoaki Honma (19): 182
Cedric Alexander (22): 172
Ethan Carter III (19): 154
Tomohiro Ishii (18): 137

BEST ON INTERVIEWS

PAUL HEYMAN (411): 4,395
Conor McGregor (169): 1,675
Jay Briscoe (44): 582
Michael Bisping (20): 452
Stephanie McMahon (25): 417
Daniel Cormier (3): 387
Adam Cole (21): 277
Dean Ambrose (11): 193
Bray Wyatt (7): 139
Lana (7): 131

MOST CHARISMATIC

SHINSUKE NAKAMURA (421): 2,527
Hiroshi Tanahashi (71): 1,015
Conor McGregor (136): 993
Daniel Bryan (73): 638
John Cena (37): 532
Sami Zayn (16): 437
Dean Ambrose (17): 391
Ronda Rousey (29): 363
Brock Lesnar (28): 255
Rush (19): 232

BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER

ZACK SABRE JR. (145): 1,221
Kyle O’Reilly (78): 841
A.J. Styles (58): 610
Hiroshi Tanahashi (61): 588
Daniel Bryan (62): 517
Shinsuke Nakamura (75): 506
Cesaro (34): 461
Kazuchika Okada (55): 460
Timothy Thatcher (64): 407
Minoru Suzuki (46): 401

BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST BRAWLER)

TOMOHIRO ISHII (424): 2,785
Katsuyori Shibata (181): 1,834
Dean Ambrose (42): 781
Kevin Steen (30): 532
Jay Briscoe (48): 367
Togi Makabe (28): 316
Brock Lesnar (32): 278
Luke Harper (8): 194
Hirooki Goto (1): 154
Minoru Suzuki (2): 128

BEST FLYING WRESTLER

RICOCHET (543): 3,365
Kota Ibushi (142): 1,907
Flamita (104): 1,182
Adrian Neville (42): 909
ACH (18): 371
Fenix (9): 309
Aero Star (2): 287
Titan (35): 273
Sami Zayn (19): 270
Mascara Dorada (17): 199

MOST OVERRATED

KANE (143): 1,117
Roman Reigns (145): 1,113
Randy Orton (5): 397
Big Show (23): 357
Ryback (18): 331
Michael Elgin(49): 326
Bray Wyatt (26): 225
Yujiro Takahashi (27): 218
John Cena (25): 197
Batista (15): 166

MOST UNDERRATED

CESARO (377): 2,275
Tomoaki Honma (99): 1,189
Tyson Kidd (29): 585
Dolph Ziggler (35): 422
Sami Zayn (16): 252
Dean Ambrose (18): 175
Yuji Nagata (1): 102
Chris Hero (8): 70
Katsuyori Shibata (10): 63
Austin Aries (1): 58

PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING (779): 4,064
Ring of Honor (16): 1,038
Dragon Gate (36): 884
Ultimate Fighting Championships (23): 835
CMLL (8): 504
World Wrestling Entertainment (4): 392
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (8): 348
AAA (3): 279
Bellator MMA (3): 238
DDT (1): 91

BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW

WWE NXT (416): 2,961
Ring of Honor (175): 1,744
Lucha Underground (106): 1,369
Dragon Gate Infinity (100): 838
Ultimate Fighter Season 20 (76): 796
WWE Raw (2): 234
New Japan World Pro Wrestling (28): 226
TNA Impact (2): 110
WWE Smackdown (9): 88
WWE Main Event (2): 84

PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR

A.J. STYLES VS. MINORU SUZUKI 8/1 TOKYO (298): 1,855
Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 8/10 Tokorozawa (143): 1,310
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata 9/21 Kobe (74): 524
Atlantis vs. Ultimo Guerrero 9/19 Mexico City (49): 522
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto 11/8 Osaka (47): 471
The Shield vs. The Wyatts 2/23 Minneapolis (37): 417
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma 8/3 Osaka (10): 330
Daniel Bryan vs. HHH 4/6 New Orleans (25): 287
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito 2/11 Osaka (20): 226
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma 7/26 Akita (19): 181

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

DRAGON LEE (190): 1,476
Moose (142): 1,092
Yuga Hayashi (145): 982
Alexa Bliss (55): 927
Cachorro (81): 910
Australian Suicide (56): 550
Ashley Remington (47): 396
Black Panther (3): 378
Chris Melendez (15): 152
Naoya Nomura (2): 72

BEST NON-WRESTLER

PAUL HEYMAN (377): 2,336
Stephanie McMahon (129): 1,103
Lana (28): 987
Bruce Tharpe (41): 524
Dario Cueto (21): 334
Konnan (9): 239
Gedo (2): 163
William Regal (1): 108
Rockstar Spud (3): 105
Maria Kanellis (2): 102

BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

WILLIAM REGAL (192): 1,273
Shimpei Nogami (170): 1,189
Joe Rogan (109): 1,053
Steve Corino (69): 745
Brian Stann (127): 689
Kevin Kelly (45): 608
Mike Tenay (28): 316
Matt Striker (8): 307
Jimmy Smith (34): 261
Mike Goldberg (7): 190

WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

JOHN LAYFIELD (165): 1,378
Jerry Lawler (125): 1,287
Michael Cole (146): 1,252
Taz (36): 655
Alex Riley (49): 399
Vampiro (9): 288
Matt Striker (33): 264
Mike Tenay (4): 93
Tom Phillips (8): 78
Byron Saxton (4): 61

BEST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

NEW JAPAN G-1 8/1 TOKYO (313): 2,227
New Japan G-1 8/3 Osaka (166): 1,297
WWE WrestleMania 4/6 New Orleans (115): 920
CMLL Anniversary show 9/19 Mexico City (49): 502
New Japan G-1 7/26 Akita (8): 406
New Japan G-1 finals 8/10 Tokorozawa (35): 402
Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 5/5 Nagoya (23): 388
UFC 168 12/28/13 Las Vegas (60): 347
ROH 5/10 Toronto (16): 190
WWE SummerSlam 8/17 Los Angeles (8): 166

[Himu]

My thoughts:

- Suzuki should be much higher on the best brawler category imo.
- Dean Ambrose should be higher on that best interview category imo.
- I'd put Charlotte over Rusev for most improved. Rusev hasn't changed THAT dramatically, meanwhile, Charlotte gets better and better and better. Ditto to Sasha.

My match of the year:




Runner up: Natalya vs Charlotte for NXT Women's Championship

My wrestler of the year

Kazuchika Okada

My promotion of the year

New Japan Pro Wrestling

My weekly TV show of the year

Lucha Underground

Best PPV shows

1. Wrestle Kingdom 8
2. G-1 Climax 24
3. Wrestlemania XXX
4. NXT R Evolution
5. NXT Arrival


Storyline of the year

1. Daniel Bryan wins WWE championship
2. The Streak
3. AJ Styles' takeover of NJPW
4. Sami Zayn road to redemption and glory
5. TNA's Lashley championship storyline - extremely well booked

[Eric P]

ZACK SABRE JR!

God he's so awesome.  Check Realhero's Dailymotion and just watch the NOAH matches with him.  He's so good at just systematically dismantling people

[Eric P]

NXT was weird as hell as it is plainly spinning up for the next live event (2/11, never forget)

Banks / Charlotte match was nice and violent, different from what we'd seen before but whoops all of a sudden outside interference from Becky turns it into a two on one situation with Bailey coming out of nowhere to offer assistance but then a radical out of character swerve to set up a fatal four way for the title.

Then to decide who will be in contention for #1 contender spot they announce a tournament with Balor vs Axel (yawn) and Hideo vs Breeze (which was a really really good event. though the ending was crazy predicable because everyone would love to see Balor vs Hideo)

Like I said it's all set up but it has two good matches in there among the dross

[Eric P]

[iconoclast]

I was just about to post that, lol

[Himu]

oh my god

[Himu]

Hey guys, can we do something like the royal rumble thread from last year? Should be fun even though anyone who gets roman reigns is the loser.

I wasn't going to make it this year because I couldn't give two shits about the Rumble this time. You guys can make it, but I don't think we have enough time to have enough people organized to make it fun. We could just make it a drinking game I guess.

[Trent Dole]

I'll be watching it at a friends place. May stop in here if there's a thread or bag on it some on my twitter. Even bad PPVs are fun with buds and pizza and Buds.

[fistfulofmetal]

i'll probably watch it late sunday night cuz i'll be watching the galavant finale with my lady.

[Eric P]

i'm going to be coming home from PA so i may have it on in the background while i work on photos if i'm home.  i may stop in or not.  i think this thread is low traffic enough that we could keep it confined here, right?

[Himu]

The royal rumble thread is usually popular with even casual watchers but sure

[Eric P]

i'm new to this, so honestly i'd say do what's best


i watched this match and all i could think is how hard it would suck if someone took your umbrella to beat an opponent over the head with it and then broke it

[nachobro]

Having people over for the Rumble this year. Most of my friends haven't cared about wrestling for years but I had multiple people ask me about it yesterday. That really surprised me.

[Trent Dole]

Mania's definitely been a bit of a shitshow the last few years.

[El Babua]

Yeah, 30 was pretty great. Though not watching this RR, cause I know the other RR's got this.

[bork]

So, the Rumble.

-It really hit me that the "big PPV" feel from the past is just gone.  The shitty undercard, stupid backstage segments relating to TV stuff, and the commercials just kill that feel.  Even the Rumble feels like an expanded RAW now.

-The Ascension are just awful.  Please send them back to NXT and repackage them or cut them loose. 

-Now we're on the tag title match.  King just implied that he didn't know what the term "aping" meant.     The crowd is just chanting for Mizdow as usual.

[bork]

The crowd is pretty hot for everything so far.  Read they already booed Roman.     Hope they don't get burned out.

[bork]

I like how they're quick to get all the undercard shit out the way.  Only the divas match is left before the Rumble and the title match.  I guess something else will be in there...heard it's Rock coming out to mess with Rusev.

[bork]

Divas match was awful.

This new documentary series on WM30 looks great.  Will watch.

[bork]

Championship match is underway.  Bork! 

[bork]

[bork]

This match is legit awesome.  Cena is even doing more than three moves!   

[bork]

BORK WINS

Now will Rollins cash in?

[bork]

...Nope!

[bork]

The Rumble has started!  No Rock/Rusev thing happened.

And it opens with Miz and...R-Truth.  Who seems to have gotten worse at doing his entrance rap, but has fixed his weird receding hairline.

[bork]

#3 IS BUBBA RAY DUDLEY HOLY FUCK!!!

[bork]

He's totally doing the Team 3D gimmick with R-Truth!   

[bork]

The crowd was totally nuts for Bubba.  ECW chants and then chants for Devon.  Bubba just got thrown out by the Wyatts.

[bork]

Rowan just ran out and attacked Curtis Axel before he could go to the ring.     They teased a face turn for Harper but he's still with Wyatt.

[bork]

THE BOOGEYMAN!! 

[bork]

Wyatt is cleaning house.

[bork]

JBL: "Sin Cara is Spanish for 'you're eliminated.'"   

[bork]

DDP!   

[bork]

Wyatt eliminated Daniel Bryan.  Killed the crowd.   

[bork]

Crowd is back and now chanting for Bryan!

[archie4208]

WWE

[bork]

Kofi's big spot this year was to get thrown onto Adam Rose's crowd and they put him back into the ring before he got eliminated by Rusev.  Eh.

Oh shit, it's Reigns.  The crowd hates this.   

[bork]

I might cancel after Mania.  I dunno...I like rewatching old stuff on the App.

[bork]

The crowd is nothing but boos now.  But I guess it would have been even worse if Bryan got eliminated at the end.

[bork]

Damien Mizdow gets the crowd back!  Fun spot where Miz runs out and tells him to leave so he can take his spot, then Miz gets knocked out by Reigns and Mizdow runs in anyway.   

[bork]

...And the crowd is back to boos after Mizdow gets eliminated.

[bork]

Ambrose has the crowd behind him.

Man, those boos are going to be deafening when Reigns wins this.

[bork]

Seems like this Rumble just fizzled out after Bryan was eliminated.  No more surprises.  Doesn't even look like Orton is coming back for this.  Last two should be Ziggler and Big Show.